The “Trifylli” is now just one game away from the Greek Cup final after recording an impressive triumph over PAOK inside “Toumba” Stadium, the first time they have won there in the competition since 1968.
Panathinaikos beat their Thessaloniki rivals 0-1 in the first leg of their semi-finals tie on Thursday morning (AEDT), putting the Greens in prime position to make the final of the knockout competition for the second time in three years.
The “Trifylli” took the lead 53 minutes in, thanks to a fantastic team goal that started from goalkeeper Bartlomiej Dragowski and concluded when winger Bernard had his header saved by PAOK goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski before striker Andraz Sporar knocked in the rebound.
The “black-whites” created chances to equalise, with forward Ally Samatta coming close with a corner header that was kept out by Dragowski.
The match turned into a ten-on-ten encounter in the 79th minute when playmakers Anastasios Bakasetas and Taison had a headed confrontation that saw each player grab the other by the back of the neck.
The Thessaloniki giants had another golden opportunity late into the contest when midfielder Soualiho Meite had his long shot deflect off two Panathinaikos defenders on its way towards goal, with the right post the only thing stopping it from going in (90+3′).
The match is notably the first time PAOK has been kept goalless at “Toumba” since September (0-0 draw with Aris) as well as the first time they have failed to score in 21 games (the last time being a 2-0 loss to AEK in October).
Panathinaikos now holds an important lead heading into next week’s second leg at “Leoforos” Stadium.
Aris defeated Panetolikos 0-1 away in the other semi-final tie on Wednesday morning (AEDT) to strongly boost their chances of making their first Cup final since 2010.
The “yellow-blacks” went ahead in the 64th minute after centre half Fran Velez headed the ball home from winger Manu Garcia.
The two teams will meet again on March 7 (AEDT), giving the Agrinio side a few weeks to prepare for the Herculean task of beating Aris at their own ground.
